Coco Gauff has battled into the Dubai quarterfinals, setting up a blockbuster meeting with Alexandra Eala.
Gauff is the third seed at the Dubai Tennis Championships, which she entered after losing her opener at the Qatar Open.
And while Gauff wasn’t at her best against Elise Mertens in their round of 16 clash, she fought hard to win 2-6, 7-6(11-9), 6-3.
And that has been a very common theme for the American in her fantastic WTA career so far, for which Gauff deserves immense credit.
Who wins between Coco Gauff and Alex Eala?
They face each other in the Dubai quarterfinal today
Coco Gauff deserves immense credit for her mental strength
Gauff hit 12 double faults in her opening win over Anna Kalinskaya, and took her tally to 28 after just two matches with 16 against Mertens.
Her serving woes are nothing new, with the American having comfortably topped that unwanted list across the entire WTA Tour in both 2024 and 2025.
It is very early stages, but the 21-year-old is seemingly heading for a similar outcome in the 2026 season.
But such struggles do highlight a major positive for Gauff, who has shown seriously impressive mental strength to get to where she is.
Despite her age, she is a two-time Grand Slam champion, winning the 2023 US Open and the 2025 French Open, while she’s also clinched the WTA Finals title.
Gauff boasts 11 WTA titles in total and has previously reached number two in the world rankings, with the added bonus of over $30million in career earnings, and counting.
Of course, she has fantastic ability in various other areas, but perhaps it is her mental strength that truly gets her over the line when it really matters.
It is a characteristic that many of the all-time greats have relied upon time and again, primarily ATP legends Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Importantly, Gauff is at the other end of her career from the likes of Djokovic, meaning she still has so much time to improve her serving struggles, even if they are showing no concrete signs of improvement right now.
| Year | Titles | Tournaments |
| 2025 | 2 | Wuhan, French Open |
| 2024 | 3 | WTA Finals, Beijing, Auckland |
| 2023 | 4 | US Open, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Auckland |
| 2021 | 1 | Parma |
| 2019 | 1 | Linz |
Coco Gauff set to rely on mental strength vs Alexandra Eala
Very fittingly, fellow WTA superstar Eala now stands in the way of Gauff and a place in the Dubai semifinals.
The Filipina looks certain to continue being heavily backed by the fans, who won’t make it easy for the American.
READ MORE: Coco Gauff names the players who are her best friends on the WTA Tour
Overcoming her opponent and fierce support will require a real mental effort from Gauff, although Eala does, of course, also boast fantastic ability at the age of 20.
Much to the delight of her huge fanbase, Eala defeated Jasmine Paolini in Dubai, either side of wins over Hailey Baptiste and Sorana Cirstea.
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She will have huge confidence from her fantastic run so far, while Gauff can take confidence from becoming the second-youngest player to win 100 WTA 1000 matches since the format’s induction, behind only Martina Hingis.
The quarterfinal match-up will be warmly welcomed by the WTA Tour and the Dubai Tennis Championships, with Gauff and Eala very much representing the future of women’s tennis.
This represents their first-ever match, with further intrigue added to the blockbuster by the fact that they have previously played doubles together.
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